FallGuy44

I always wondered how accurate the oil life indicator was. Regardless of the percentage, I'm changing my motorcraft semi-syn every 5000 miles. And why not, I get free oil changes for the life of the truck from the dealer.

gopherman

At least in my case, I never go longer than 6 months on a fill. I also don't put that many miles on the oil during that time. I use MC Full-Synthetic 5W20...and will never let the oil go more than 5K. When the oil comes out it's typically not very dark...and that's okay with me. I'm fine spending more on oil if it keeps the engine in good shape, longer. As you know, at least in my case, it hasn't made a difference, there's still premature wear on my 5.0. That being said, in every other vehicle I've owned including one with well over 300,000 miles (my commuter), I've followed the same regimen with good results. I just switched out the valve cover gasket on my commuter the other day because there was a leak in the spark plug tube, and the valves and everything under the cover looked like it had just left the factory (hardly any varnish even). It still runs like a top. Using a high quality full synthetic at regular oil change intervals does make a difference in terms of varnish and deposits over time. In other words, I wouldn't be too concerned with changing your oil too often. There's no harm in it other than the money spent and if done consistently can actually help extend the life of your engine.

lawndart

One thing the OLM isn't monitoring...........how much fuel is in your oil. It can't make assumptions about how well your engine seals and I'd be shocked if it included DI data as a parameter.

elptxjc

The one thing you should never do under warranty is go longer than the maximum recommended, which is already a very high 10K miles. And neither over the time limit, which is a very reasonable 1 year, whichever comes first. And finally, never get a grade lower than recommended, like xx/20. Anyway, a good full synthetic oil can go longer than a year, but unless you have very few miles, I wouldn't do it, even out of warranty, for all the reasons mentioned above. Just because oil doesn't look dark, means it's still good. And the same is true if dark; it's not necessarily bad. The critical factors are fuel dilution and the additive package. especially the ability to neutralize acids (depleted quicker with short trips). Viscosity also breaks down quicker on turbo cars, which are a lot harder on oil than NA engines, for obvious reasons. Especially for that reason, and the fact our engines only hold 6 qts, I'm going to change it every 5K miles because I know it's best for the engine, even though I don't plan to keep the truck forever, and it might not be necessary to do, but I like to take good care of my vehicles . And since I do my own oil changes, it's cheap. Plus I can check everything around, and clean everything around, which I like to do too.

SCrewYou

mine usually goes about 8000-8500 before telling me i need to change.

idrive

iTrader: (3)

If the OLM was reset when you changed at 2K, 6K miles will rarely set off the OLM telling you you're at 0%. At 8K total miles and at 4% left I'd (almost) bet the OLM wasn't reset. At 365 days the OLM will automatically tell you to "change engine oil soon" regardless of milage.

Completely agree. It does get some short trips but it is my tow vehicle and does get some good workouts.

Another good reason I would never go longer than one year regardless of mileage. Being an old school - change the oil every 3K guy it's anything but a big deal. If I were to hit 5K miles before the year was up it would be getting changed before the one year triggers it.

As mentioned, it gets both. Agree as well that although the oil level has not changed that doesn't mean it isn't "using" any oil as there could be fuel dilution making up the difference. I am going to send a sample in to Blackstone. Regardless of the results I will never go past the one year OC.

Rarely will 6K miles trigger the OLM. Unless you've gone 365 days it's not going to trip until 10K miles or one year if you're not working the engine much harder than average, whatever that is....

I've wondered about dealers doing the free oil change allowing you to do it every 5K (or whatever you prefer) rather than only changing when the OLM tells you to. Kind of surprised they pay at every 5K rather than just when told to by the OLM.

I fully agree. Along with what oil you're using, Dino - Semi - Full Syn.

I would assume you're doing some towing, perhaps a bunch of short trips, could be a bit hotter where you are to trigger the OLM before 10K miles.

For me.. the OLM is nothing short of a reminder. There are too many things going on for this to be that "Intelligent". Pennzoil ULTRA Platinum for me. Oil is changed at 5K or one year, whichever hits first. First year of ownership was the only time I hit 5K miles before one year of operation. Regardless of mileage I don't understand why you wouldn't change it at one year. I believe the OA is going to show the oil breaking down, headed towards becoming caustic. We'll have an answer soon.

Bubbabiker

Only made it to 4k with the last oil change before the OLM alert went off. Lots of short driving trips and the time.

rngtrtl

condensation in the oil also makes it acidic which will gradually eat away at bearing surfaces. 5k or one year oil changes is a good rule to follow if you plan on keeping your truck for a long time.

DNA Dan

+1. I have never been a fan of the 10K oil change. I think there are just too many circumstances where the oil will be toast much sooner than that. If you want to go this long, I would suggest a catch can or something to keep the amount of condensation/volatiles in the crankcase at a minimum. Also, if you drive a lot of short trips, take it on a longer trip once in a while so it burns off anything diluting your oil.

southern_f150